Extrusion: 'Hybrid' Tool for Pipe, Tubing

Guill Tool & Engineering has introduced a new version of its 800 series: the 800 Series Hybrid. In some extrusion applications that utilize crossheads and inlines, layers of the exact same material are applied multiple times using a single die. This method is used to reduce the propensity for errors caused by gels breaking through a thin wall, weld lines, inconsistent wall thickness, plus material and process variations. Additional errors include difficult-to-process materials and demanding applications where there is zero fault tolerance.

Seeking to design the next generation multi-layer die to overcome these challenges, engineers at Guill looked for a way to incorporate this technology into an updated version of the 800 Series. This led to the creation of the 800 Series Hybrid. The inherent benefits of the 800 Series are retained, including compact design, low residence time and a common deflector bore that eliminates tolerance stack up.

The challenge was to create a hybrid design that incorporates the benefits of layer overlapping, while reducing unnecessary complexity and making the technology more cost-affordable for customers. This was achieved by overlapping layers in each semi-deflector, using a single cone. The highly efficient design of the 800 Series Hybrid reduces cost and size, as opposed to other methods of overlapping layers.

Key benefits of the 800 Series Hybrid include eliminating weld lines in materials through patented overlapping technology; producing a more consistent finished product; reduced sensitivity to changes in viscosity; reduced sensitivity to changes in line speed; myriad material and multi-layer application possibilities; works in all tubing and jacketing applications with a wide range of materials; low residence time; compact design and a low tolerance stack-up error factor, all resulting in improved concentricity.

The 800 Series Hybrid extrusion tool greatly reduces stagnation, because overlapping layers are more inherently balanced than single layers and also because each semi-deflector is “tuned to flush.” Conventional deflectors must simultaneously achieve a balance between flushing, balancing and eliminating the weld line. There is less difference between the slowest moving material and the fastest moving material in the deflector channels, thus making the viscosity more consistent in the deflector.